Recreation enclosure



Feb. 11, 1958 H. BINGHAM, JR

RECREATION ENcLosURm Filed Aug. 29, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /v Fig.

H/'ram Bing/mm, Jr.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY` Feb. 11, 1958 A H. BINGHAM, JR 2,823,034

RECREATIQN ENcLosuRE: v

Filed Aug. 29, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS nited States PatentRECREATION ENCLOSURE Hiram Bingham, Jr., Salem, Conn.

Application August 29, 1956, Serial No. 606,879

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-95) This invention generally relates to a novelrecreation enclosure which will permit one or more persons t engage invarious sports or physical activities and especially sports, games, orother physical activities involving the use of a ball or the like. Moreparticularly this invention relates to a novel recreation enclosureconstructed on the sides and top of Wire or wire-like material, saidenclosure being supporting upon a substantially flat base or floor, andthere being included within said enclosure a resilient means forabsorbing, decelerating, dampening, deecting, bouncing, or otherwiseacting against the force of the ball which is used by the player orplayers within the enclosure.

As is well known, recreational activities Iconstitute an important phaseof the daily lives of millions of people all over the world and have animportant bearing upon the general health of our nation. However, thereare two problems which have always confronted those who wish toparticipate in sports, games, and other physical activities. In crowdedcity areas there is usually an ample number of people who Wish toparticipate in recreational activities Ibut unfortunately the problem isthat there is usually a lack of space wherein sports can be safely andconveniently conducted. There are too few playgrounds and too littleplay space. On the other hand, in rural areas where there is ample spacefor sports and games the problem is that there `are frequently too fewpeople within a given area who are available at a given time for thosesports which require several participants or teams. Also, proficiency inmany sports is most conveniently obtained by a person when that personcan arrange to practice the basic rudiments of the game under conditionswhich roughly approximate those which exist in the sport, without thenecessity of having other persons present. For example: in the game oftennis, prociency is often obtained by volleying a tennis ball against awooden backboard; in golf, one may drive golf balls on a practice range;and in basketball, one may practice alone by shooting at the basket. Itis seldom that adequate facilities are available for this purpose.

The aforementioned diiculties which confront those persons who areinterested in participating in sports and recreational activitiesindicate that there is an area within which substantial improvementscould be made to satisfy the needs of those who are faced with one ormore of the above problems. It is believed that a single device orapparatus could be designed which would be capable of solving all of theaforementioned problems. Very briefly, it is believed that Such a deviceshould be designed to enable persons to engage in sports in a smallamount of space andein addition should permit the participants to exertapproximately the same strenuous physical effort (with the exception ofrunning) that they would normally exert when the sport is played withoutany space limitations. Such a device should also enable those personswho desire to do so to practice or other.-

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Wise engage in sports and related physical activities without thenecessity of having any other person present. Preferably such a deviceshould also be constructed so that there is the maximum access to freshair and sunshine.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide" a novel anduseful device which will enable one or more' persons to engage in gamesand physical activities within'v a limited area. Y

A further object of this invention is to provide a de vice which willpermit participants in a sport to exert the same strenuous physicalei'rort that they would exert were there no space limitations.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device which willenable a person to engage in a sport involving the use of a resilientball without the necessity of having any other .person present.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an enclosurewhich will enable a person or persons to strike a ball within theenclosure and to thereafter be assured that theball, after beingdeflected off of a suitablel resilient means, will return to theapproximate area of the player.

This invention 'broadly relates to a recreational enclosure consistingof wire or the like which is adapted to retain the players tools andequipment of any particular sport within a restricted horizontal andvertical area, a base or floor beneath the recreational enclosure, and aresilient means located in one portion of the enclosure which isutilized by the player or players as a meansr for stopping or deflectingthe ball which is used in the sport being engaged in.

Various other features, objects, and advantages of the invention willappear from the description of one species or embodiment hereinafterdescribed and shown in the. drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire recreational enclosure;

Figure 2 is a side view of the enclosure of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the interior of said enclosure taken alongline 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a detailed view of `011e manner in whichV wire fencing may4be attached to the enclosure pipe supports;

Figure 5 is a detailed View of one manner in which the inclinedresilient means inside the enclosure may be yattached to the side of theenclosure;

Figure 6 is a partial perspective View of the recreational enclosure ofthis invention showing the arrangement of a protective netting in frontof the inclined resilient means.

Referring now to Figures l and 2, it will be seen that the recreationalenclosure of this invention comprises side sections S, end sections E, atop section T, and a base or floor portion F. The side, end, and topsections as shown in the drawings consist of wire of the type commonlyemployed for fencing (e. g. chain-link fencing), an-d this wire is heldin place by a plurality of vertical and horizontal pipe sections P. Theinterwoven wire need only be small enough so that a ball will not passtherethrough and may be fastened to the pipe sections P by welding,hooks, springs, or by the bracket-type connections M and K shown inFigure 4. As shown in Figure 2, one side of the recreational enclosuremay contain a gate G, but it will be understood that a similar gatecould be located just as well at either end of the enclosure. As shownin the drawings, the vertical pipe sections P extend downwardly to apoint adjacent to the level of the base or oor F.

As shown in the drawings, the oor section is supported a short distanceabove the ground by a number,

of supporting members SM, and the oor area is prefere.

. ting N.

ably confined within the limits of the vertical pipe sections P. Thefloor section F may consist :of either a single expanse of board (e. g.multiply plywood) or a number of boards nailed together in much the..sameA fashion that the boards in the floorfof a house are nailed,- Ifdesired, the` floor may. be constructedl in together. i such a mannerthat it is portable. Ifthe floorF -is to be portable, a plurality ofaligned boards, such as two by fours may be fastened together by braces,clamps, or the like. It is preferable, although not necessary, that thefloor section shall contain an upstanding board FE (for instance, aboutsix inches high) extending around the periphery-of the iloor area. Theupstanding board may contain suitable small openings to permit rain torun off of the floor.

According to this invention, there is positioned within the cage aresilient deecting means inclined from the horizontal, and as shown intherdrawings, one means of positioning this resilient m-eans is adjacentto one end of the recreational enclosure. This resilient means as shownconsists essentially of an approximately rectangular expanse of fabricnetting N which contains a border B. The border B, in addition to beingjoined to the periphery of the netting, also contains a plurality ofeyelets EY (Figure 5) which enable the netting N to be fastened to thetop and sides of the recreational enclosure. As is best shown in Figures2 and 3, springs R connect the top T to the upper periphery of thenetting N. Springs R are adapted to expand and contract in accordancewith the force -or pressure exerted against the net- In Figures 3 and 5it will also be noted that along the sides S of the enclosure fastenerhooks H join the eyelets EY to the side border B of the netting N.

the bottom corners of the netting extend to the sides S of theenclosure, but instead of going'directly to thel sides as do thefasteners F, tension springs TS extend in a somewhat diagonal directiontoward the oppositel end of the enclosure.

It will also be noted in the drawings that the lower border B of thenetting N is adapted to contain a weighted pipe WP along substantiallythe entire bottom portion of the netting. The border along this bottomsection of the netting as shown in the drawings is of a substantiallyhollow cylindrical shape so that the weighted pipe-WP maybe easilyinserted or removed therefrom. The bottom portion of the border B alsois adapted to be fitted with a weight W which, of course, tends totension the netting N in a downwarddirection.

Figure 6 also reveals that a small protective netting PN may be disposedacross the same end-of the-enclosure in close proximity to the lowerportion of'the main netting N; It willbe observed that the protectivenetting PN is simply tied at its lateral extremities to the sideportions S of the enclosure by wires or cords C, and

It will also be noted that tension springs TS located nearv and bouncedonce.

stands near one end of the enclosure and by batting or l otherwisehitting a ball toward the opposite end of the enclosure where thenetting N is located the ball will be lcaused to rebound from thenetting N with a decelerated force back toward the player. Dependingupon the force with which the ball is struck, or upon the degree ofresiliency in the netting, or upon yother factors, the ball will either(l) rebound back to the player without hitting the oor; (2) rebound backto the player after taking one or more bounces; or (3) merely drop tothe oor directly below the netting. The inertia of the Weight W and therelatively non-resilient lower portion 4 the netting to reboundupwardsespecially when the n etting is slanted up and away from thecenter of the court.

In such games as tennis or squash one would probably desire to adjustthe resiliency of the netting so that the ball would rebound back to theplayer either without hitting the iioor or possibly after the ball hashit the oor However, for sports such as golf or baseball one might welldesire the ball to hit the resilient netting in such a manner that thefull force of the ball would be absorbed by the netting with the resultthat the ball would merelyl drop vertically downward from the netting.

A number of means for adjustingthe resiliency of the netting will beobvious to those skilled in the art. By way of example, the resiliencyof the netting can easily be adjusted by merely increasing or decreasingthe size of the weight W which is lsuspended from the bottom portion ofthe netting. Alternatively one might adjust the resiliency of thenetting by either substituting springs R of'different size and differentstrength or by substitutingshorter or longer fasteners H around theperiphery Vof the netting. Non-resilient fasteners H at the sides have ahighly unexpected role in that they cause the balls hitting the net torebound toward the center of the enclosure. Thetension springs TS mayalso be varied in size and'strength in order to vary the reboundcharacteristics of the netting N.

The purpose of the protective netting PN is to guard against-thepossibility that when a player strikes or hits a ball with greatvelocity toward the lower portion of the netting N where the pipe WP islocated, the protective netting PN will either stop the ball before ithits the pipe or will catch the ball as it rebounds with great velocityfrom the pipe. In some instances it is quite possible that the playermay desire to entirely omit protective netting PN. In a preferredembodiment of this invention, the sides of the netting N are arranged insuch a fashion that the entire resilient means R pre-4 sents a somewhatconcave target for the ball being struck by the player which in turnmeans that when a ball hits near the side edge of the netting, thetendency will be for that ball to rebound directly back toward theyplayer rather than being deflected o-if toward the sides of theenclosure.

The tension of the netting can also be adjusted by changingthe weight W.If the tension is too great a pitched or'batted ball may rebound so fastthat it would be somewhatdangerous for either a pitcher or a batter at`such close range. Experiments have indicated that a-twenty-iive tothirty pound weight is usually satisfactory in returning a tennis ball`to a server on the first bounce-and a'pitched baseballtoV the pitcheron the first bounce.

lnaccordance'witha preferred embodiment of this invention, therecreationalenclosure is twelve feet wide at each vend, twelve feethigh, and twenty-four feet along each side. It is obvious that thesespecified preferred dimensions .could'be varied at will, depending uponthe particular use to .which the enclosure is to be put. As ageneral/rule, however, it isnbelieved that the optimum dimensions forthe recreational enclosure of this invention should range as follows:eight to-twenty feet wide at each-end, eight to thirty feet high, andfifteen to fifty feet along eachside.

Although this invention has beendescribed with particular reference tothe use of resilient balls, it will be understood that it is:possiblethat one might instead wish toV use the-.'shuttlecocks, such as ane usedin the game of badminton, or other similar objects. The floor, insteadofbeingmadei of wood may be formed of concrete, and itjmay either be onthe ground orV raisedV above it. The `supporting pipes -P` may bereplaced with equivalent, wooden supports if desired. The wiresurrounding the sides and top of the court could consist of heavy webbednetting. The top or any of the sides could be covered with canvas toeliminate rain, snow, wind, or the sun. The netting N can be of cotton,nylon, flexible metal, etc.

It should also be understood that under certain circumstances, it would`be possible for one to eliminate the end section E which is locatedclosest to the resilient means. This would be possible, for example, ifthe resilient means was stretched across substantially the entire areaat one end of the closure so that there would be no substantial dangerof the ball passing behind the resilierit means. This might also befeasible if one desired to place one end of the enclosure u-p against asolid wall. Other Variations are readily apparent.

Also, whereas the vertical pipe sections P have been shown as restingupon a lsmall platform, it will of course be obvious that they could bepermanently set in concrete footings, or could even contain rollerwheels so that the entire enclosure could be rolled from one location toanother.

In conclusion, it should then -be understood that various details ofconstruction may be varied through a wide range without departing fromthe principles of this invention,A and it is, therefore, not the purposeto limit the patent granted herein otherwise than necessitated by thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A recreational enclosure comprising: (a) at least four sides and atop portion consisting at least partly of wire mesh; (b) a substantiallyat oor portion within said enclosure; (c) a separate resilient deectingmeans disposed Iacross a substantial portion of the enclosure adjacentone end thereof; (d) said resilient means compri'sing inetting materialwhich is bounded on its periph ery by non-netting material which permitsthe netting material to be more easily and securely joined by fasteningmeans to adjoining portions of said enclosure; (e) said resilient meansbeing joined at its upper portions by means of resilient .springs toupper portions of the adjacent enclosure; (f) said resilient meanshaving Weighting means located adjacent the lower portion thereof whichaffect the resiliency of said resilient means; (g) said resilient meanscontaining attachment means for attaching the lower portions thereof toadjacent parts of the enclosure; and (h) said attachment means beingadapted to move the bottom of said resilient means so as to vary theangle of said resilient means with respect to said flat floor portion.

2. A recreation-al enclosure in accordance with claim 1 which inaddition has la separate protective netting means positioned across thesame end of the enclosure adjacent the lower portion of said resilientmeans and in protective relationship therewith.

3. A recreational enclosure in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidweighting means of (f) comprises an elongated metallic pipe disposedalong the bottom portion of said resilient means.

4. A recreational enclosure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the sidesof said resilient means are attached tothe sides of said enclosure bymeans of hook-type fasteners.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,556,046 Taylor Oct. 6, 1925 1,660,339 Kaufmann Feb'. 28, 19281,677,442 Hall July 17, 1928 2,076,911 Monson Apr. 13, 1937 2,331,236Schaefer Oct. 5, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,832 Great Britain 1900

